Sodomy (/ˈsɒdəmi/) is generally anal or oral sex between people or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal (bestiality), but it may also mean any non-procreative sexual activity.[1][2][3] Originally, the term sodomy, which is derived from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in chapters 18 and 19 of the Book of Genesis in the Bible,[4] was commonly restricted to anal sex.[5][6] Sodomy laws in many countries criminalized these behaviors, and other disfavored sexual activities as well.[6][7] In the Western world, many of these laws have been overturned or are not routinely enforced.

"The exact definition varies from state to state, but sodomy has been broadly defined as a sexual "crime against nature"—a phrase echoed by then Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1986, when the Supreme Court upheld a Georgia anti-sodomy law in Bowers v. Hardwick. In the United States, that language dates back to a 1697 Massachusetts law that forbade "the detestable and abominable sin of buggery [anal sex] with mankind or beast, which is contrary to the very light of nature." Buggery, incidentally, was generally accepted to mean a homosexual act; in cases of bestiality, the gender mix of the participants was immaterial.

ADVERTISING

In later years, several states formally expanded the definition of sodomy to include both oral and anal sex, whether homosexual or heterosexual. The Georgia law in the Bowers case, for example, defined the crime as "any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another." (This law was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court in 1998.)The state law being questioned in Lawrence v. Texas contains a similar definition, although it covers only same-sex contact—Texas being one of four states where the sodomy ban applies exclusively to homosexuals. (Click here to see a state-by-state breakdown of anti-sodomy laws.)

Broadly written anti-sodomy statutes have also been used, on rare occasion, to prosecute men or women deemed "sexual deviates." Mutual masturbation, for example, was known to land the occasional couple in legal hot water, at least before the majority of states began jettisoning their sodomy laws in the 1970s. It is highly unlikely that any state would pursue consenting adults for such behavior today."

"The exact definition varies from state to state, but sodomy has been broadly defined as a sexual "crime against nature"—a phrase echoed by then Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1986, when the Supreme Court upheld a Georgia anti-sodomy law in Bowers v. Hardwick. In the United States, that language dates back to a 1697 Massachusetts law that forbade "the detestable and abominable sin of buggery [anal sex] with mankind or beast, which is contrary to the very light of nature." Buggery, incidentally, was generally accepted to mean a homosexual act; in cases of bestiality, the gender mix of the participants was immaterial.

ADVERTISING

In later years, several states formally expanded the definition of sodomy to include both oral and anal sex, whether homosexual or heterosexual. The Georgia law in the Bowers case, for example, defined the crime as "any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another." (This law was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court in 1998.)The state law being questioned in Lawrence v. Texas contains a similar definition, although it covers only same-sex contact—Texas being one of four states where the sodomy ban applies exclusively to homosexuals. (Click here to see a state-by-state breakdown of anti-sodomy laws.)

Broadly written anti-sodomy statutes have also been used, on rare occasion, to prosecute men or women deemed "sexual deviates." Mutual masturbation, for example, was known to land the occasional couple in legal hot water, at least before the majority of states began jettisoning their sodomy laws in the 1970s. It is highly unlikely that any state would pursue consenting adults for such behavior today."

The definition was already posted, by you even. I don't know what you are getting at.